Why is the Coral Triangle important?

The staggering natural productivity of the Coral Triangle region not only makes it unique for its wildlife and marine and coastal ecosystems, but also for the benefits derived for local communities and governments. Consider this:

120 million: people directly sustained by the marine and coastal resources of the Coral Triangle

US$2.4 billion: sustainable fisheries benefit for all of Southeast Asia from coral reefs1

US$12 billion: size of the Coral Triangle nature-based tourism industry, which includes sites such as Tubbataha, Komodo, Sipadan (East Borneo), and Raja Ampat

There are serious problems

Rising temperature from global warming may cause higher rates of coral mortality and even local extinction in isolated, small populations. The 1997-98 El Niño weather event triggered the largest worldwide coral bleaching event ever recorded. In Southeast Asia, an estimated 18% of the region's coral reefs were damaged or destroyed.1

Meanwhile, across the Indo-Pacific region, 79% of spawning aggregations (reproductive gatherings) of reef fish have stopped forming or are in decline.2 Tuna, shark fin, turtle products and reef fish are also being taken out of the water at unsustainable rates.